Fault Lines
by turningbackthetimeturner
Summary: Albus couldn't be bothered with rubbish in his seventh year; he had other things to worry about. Like, keeping his golden reputation for Gryffindor and not going around trying to chat up Ravenclaws like the infamous Scorpius Malfoy. However, fate had other plans.


_Pairing(s): _Albus Severus/Scorpius, Albus Severus/OC, all other (side) pairings are undetermined right now.

_Contains: _Het, (eventual) slash, and a bunch of family issues.

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Harry Potter nor am I making any sort of profit from this story.

_Author's Notes:_ I've been trying to take a crack at writing a multi-chaptered fic for a while now and finally something has come to fruition. Funnily enough my main pairing for this particular story is (eventual) Albus Severus/Scorpius, which I've never written before. Ah well, the muse wants what the muse wants, right? ;) As first attempts generally go, I'm sure there are things that that could be greatly improved, so any con-crit or just telling me how you liked it would be great. *shakes tin*

A big huge thank you to my beta: _0WolfMoon0_!

Written for The Next Generation Multi-Chapter Competition on the HPFC forum.

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**Fault Lines**

~.~

Chapter 1: Starry Nights

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Peering down the empty hallway, free of any teachers on the prowl or stray couples, Albus was never more grateful that he had the invisibility cloak in his possession. It was nearing eleven, far past curfew, but the night was just getting started.

"Oh Albus, you really should've been sorted into Slytherin," Blanca Zabini, his current girlfriend of three months, said as she tugged at his arm, purring.

He smiled, trying to keep his eyes alert for prefects, namely, his sister. Albus didn't want to know what would happen if Lily caught them. She was far more uptight than his cousin, Rose ever was. Go figure. He wished more than ever that he could've gotten the map from James weeks ago but no, he was too responsible. Al rolled his eyes at the memory, before turning to his girlfriend. "I could've been, but I guess things didn't work out that way did they?"

"Should've, with all of this cunningness that's coming from a Gryffindor," Blanca replied, twirling her wand absent mindedly.

Albus stifled a laugh, "Y'know what? I was pretty afraid that my family would shun me if I was sorted into that house, back when I got on the train for the first time. Dad shushed my worries quite well, but the Hat decided on Gryffindor in the end." Al shrugged, tightening his hold on the cloak. Luckily, Blanca was petite and Al wasn't too far behind her in height difference, so he could keep them covered with relative ease.

He was a more slender, lithe boy than anywhere near the overly buff muscled guys that mainly populated his Quidditch team. There were many similarities between him and his dad but Al was more of a pleasing face thanks to his mother's genetics. It was one of the many things he was thankful for getting from his parents.

"Hmm, I dare say that you do have a certain grace that's not usually found in Gryffindors. It's a creative use of the invisibility cloak after all." She gave him a sly smile, slipping her hand in his own. They hadn't bothered with putting a silencing charm on their feet, letting the echo of their footsteps sound in the hall.

Al gave her a coy smile. "You can thank my dad, as he gave me the cloak in the first place." He squeezed her hand, letting them fall into a comfortable silence.

His dad had given him the invisibility cloak himself, always the favorite. Al wondered what dad would say if he knew what exactly the cloak was being used for, having a beautiful girl on his arm and clearly heading for a broom closet. The similarities between himself and his father in looks were undeniable, but as far as Albus knew, Dad had never been anywhere near as good of a conversationalist he was, nor as popular. Many a witch and wizard remarked on the fact, including the Daily Prophet when business was slow (he had lost count on the number of times Skeeter had tried to get an interview with him). And on the truth that James had completely failed on living up to their Grandfather's name. It was funny how things worked out that way.

Blanca tugged at his arm, jerking Albus out of his thoughts, she pointed at a broom closet, the one right by the Room of Requirement, "Al, there's one!" She giggled, trotting ahead as Albus threw the cloak off himself.

She grabbed the doorknob, turning it.

Al was already undoing his tie, they wouldn't be found after all, "Blanca, we should –"

"-Ah!" Two boys tumbled out of the closet, both taken by surprise. Al and Blanca both let out a startled gasp. What shocked Al the most was the sight of someone he knew very well. A man that was lean, slender, and possessed the infamous Malfoy white-blond hair: Scorpius Malfoy. His face was flushed, as if he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar – and in a way he was.

Even in the dim light given by the moon Albus could see that his hair was tussled, state of dress in disarray, and his lips pink, in a way that could only be caused by a heavy snogging. He saw Scorpius struggling to move, having a boy that had fallen on top of him, a younger Gryffindor Albus never got to know.

Albus raised his eyebrows in confusion. Malfoy was gay? He had never seen him with any guys but, then again, there was a lack of any girlfriends as well. Albus preferred to just assume he was asexual, not even having a desire to even ask. It wasn't any of his business to begin with.

Malfoy snapped, "Get off me!"

He shoved the boy aside, scrambling to collect himself. Malfoy threw a glare at the Gryffindor, who was now running away. Al watched as Scorpius fruitlessly tried to fix his Ravenclaw tie, a frustrated frown appearing on his face. Before long, Scorpius threw his hands up in defeat and finally realized that Al and Blanca were still there.

The look on Malfoy's face was akin to a deer caught in headlights. A deer that could give the famed Weasley blush a run for its money, for that matter.

Al decided to break the ice. "Well? At least you were able to get some," He cracked, aiming for a less awkward conversation. But Scorpius let out a embarrassed squeak and Blanca made a noise of disapproval, lightly swatting him on the arm. He winced, the wrong thing to say then.

Malfoy shuffled his feet, looking anywhere but at them. Finally Malfoy cleared his throat, his words sounding strained, forced. "Er, let's all forget this even happened, Potter, Zabini." He gave a tense nod, face aflame.

"But, what about your friend?" Blanca pointed out, eyebrows raised.

"I'll have a talk with him," Scorpius mumbled.

Blanca smirked, taking ahold of Albus's hand before giving Malfoy a final promise, "Oh, we won't tell. It'll be like you never saw us." Scorpius lifted his head towards her, searching Blanca for dishonesty. He was apparently satisfied and relaxed. But Malfoy soon turned toward Albus, his eyes anxiously looking at him, looking for a word from him too.

Did he really think that he and Zabini would tell on him? Al felt the slightest bit of discomfort; he wasn't used to confrontations like this. Yet already they had made enough noise to attract any stray prefects, it would be best if they cleared out before –

"-Ahem. What is this?" Lily, his sister, had found them.

Albus could have cursed, the night was getting worse and it didn't look like it was getting better anytime soon.

Blanca let go of his hand, smoothly distancing herself from him. He could only glare at Lily, and she gladly returned the action. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Scorpius attempting to disappear but Lily only called him out on it.

His night was teetering on being completely ruined and he wasn't going to let that happen because of his freaking sister. Albus, getting desperate, took a stab at swaying his sister over, (although he didn't have any high hopes for that),"Lils-"

Her eyes narrowed into slits. "Don't 'Lils' me!" Her dark red hair was beginning to resemble her Dad's hairstyle - a messy mop. There were shadows under her eyes, either very recent or her glamour charm stopped working. Even Al knew she was not in a good mood tonight.

Lily continued, throwing at glare at him pointedly, as if he had personally murdered her cat. "Thirty points from Gryffindor, Five from Slytherin …and five from Ravenclaw."

Okay, Albus had to admit that his sister was a raging bitch sometimes.

"What! Are you kidding me? That is in no way fair." He clenched his fists. God, why was his sibling so determined to beat him up?!

Lily only sniffed at that, giving him a coy smirk, "Anger issues much?"

She was tiny, but a force to be reckoned with in his book.

Albus pinched the bridge of his nose, Dad had always said he had to be the bigger person…even if his sibling was unfairly taking points from his house and totally slacking on Ravenclaw and her own house.

Albus felt like making a remark about her total Slytherin ways but perhaps that wasn't the best plan of action with his girlfriend right there.

"Excuse me, but can I just leave?" Scorpius asked, looking eager to disappear for good.

Lily smiled, a ray of damn sunshine to Malfoy, Al noted. "Of course you can!"

Al rolled his eyes, it wasn't a secret that Lily had a huge crush on Malfoy. It was a much coveted topic when it came to blackmail, though so Al was thankful for that if nothing else.

He watched Malfoy walk away, turning at the corner.

Blanca added smoothly, "Lily, I'll be making my getaway now, if you don't mind."

She gave his hand a final squeeze and effortlessly walked towards the Slytherin Common Room, shoes clicking away.

Only he was left. Albus gazed at his sister, so determined to bring everyone down in her crusade – especially him, just what was her problem?

Lily refused to look at him, crossing her arms and taking a "holier-than-thou" stance; body turned to the side, eyes shut and nose stuck up in the air. His little sister always had a huge flair for dramatics and when she was upset, she let you know it. He would've brushed it off as Lily being overdramatic and silly if it wasn't for the little details – making her perfect act shatter. Her shoulders slumped the slightest bit, shadows were present under her eyes, hair just a bit frazzled.

"Lily, I-"

"-Leave. Unless you want more points docked," She cut him off coldly, in a voice that obviously gave him the impression she didn't want to talk.

Albus rolled his eyes in annoyance, finally turning away and heading down the same path Scorpius took.

She had gotten the title of prefect this year. Albus thought she took to the position like water to a duck but perhaps that wasn't the case. But it wasn't his problem and she could deal with it herself. He had more important things to worry about.

He turned the corner, catching a glimpse of white-blond hair again. It was Malfoy, but he was too far away to see him, with his head ducked down and walking along slowly as if deep in thought.

_What was he thinking about?_

Albus cleared his throat and jogged up to him, watching the boy's head turn in surprise, his posture stiff and defensive. His light blue eyes seemed to question him, as if to see if he was a friend or foe.

"Hey, Malfoy, remember what you said back there?" He greeted Malfoy quietly, not wanting to draw attention.

Now that Scorpius was out of the spotlight, he gained a much more reserved stature. Al couldn't help but wonder what else it took to shake his quiet act. Despite all efforts of the media implying otherwise, he and Scorpius were never true rivals. Scorpius was too cowardly, and far, far less arrogant according to what Dad told him about his father as a young boy. He had a pointed chin, forget-me-not blue eyes, less sharp features then his dad and almost had a soft look about him. He always shied away from any real attention, preferring to bury his nose in a book as far Albus could see.

Malfoy pursed his lips. "Hm, I do recall that." Scorpius raised his eyebrows giving off a cool air, but Albus could still see the faintest hint of a blush on his cheeks.

"I won't tell." Scorpius blinked in surprise, caught off guard.

"Thanks, I guess…" Scorpius turned away, mumbling the words. Albus watched Scorpius stare out the window, contemplating something.

Albus cocked his head. "You know, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, Malfoy. It's just a sexual preference." He felt out of his element, as this was the first conversation between them that lasted longer than two lines – not that this was a particularly long exchange.

Malfoy nodded, flicking his eyes to him in interest, "I know. But, the problem is... I'm the heir of the Malfoy line and I highly doubt my grandparents nor my parents would be overly enthusiastic to hear that I prefer broomsticks to cauldrons , so to speak."

Albus scoffed, folding his arms, "That's their problem not yours, Malfoy. And haven't they ever heard of surrogate parenting?"

"Call me Scorpius, if you will." His lips tugged upwards, almost smiling. "I think my grandfather would throw a fit about that, he still hasn't quite gotten the anti-Muggle disgust out of his system."

Albus grinned. "Well, at least you've heard of it. So welcome to the new age."

Scorpius seemed to be fighting back a smile. "Any Ravenclaw would take advantage of knowing everything they can."

He nodded with a smile and fixed his gaze on the moon, moving right beside Scorpius, neither speaking, both quietly reflecting. He had never been cruel to Scorpius nor had he ever been friendly with him…like now. So, did this even change anything? Not if he didn't want it to. They were just acquaintances, nothing more.

The silence grew far from comfortable, and the urge to break it was nearly overwhelming to Albus. In some ways, Albus thought, this could be seen as romantic… looking at the moon together. He quickly wiped the thoughts away, turning his head from Scorpius.

Scorpius, however, broke the quiet. "It was nice chatting with you." Albus saw him swallowing, eyes darting to the side with anxiety.

Albus hesitantly replied, "Yeah, it was. I guess I'll see you around."

Scorpius let out a half smile, one that wasn't quite a smirk. "Have fun being the Quidditch Captain this year, Albus."

This time Al smiled before he even realized it. "I will, Scorpius."

Suddenly, Scorpius rubbed at his eyes, letting out a tired sigh. He turned his head, looking more weary than he had seconds ago.

"Hm, I should be going… Bye, Albus."

He watched his white-blond hair shine under the moonlight, appearance almost ghostly, before Scorpius walked out of sight. Scorpius was a confusing sort of bloke, but curious would be a better fit... But, Al didn't have time for curious blokes in the first place.

Al sighed, he didn't even care at this point. Albus walked away slowly, the night was ruined, and he would have to settle for a wank in the showers, but it was interesting to see Scorpius Malfoy if nothing else.


End file.
